


The Usual

by SeafoamSoul



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Elias is both an angel and a lil cocky gremlin, F/M, and we have no choice but to stan, we luv a good coffee shop fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23684431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeafoamSoul/pseuds/SeafoamSoul
Summary: You’re a regular at a local coffee shop but find yourself getting distracted by a new barista.
Relationships: Elias Samson/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	The Usual

The smell of coffee and the hiss of the milk frother lulled you into a sense of relaxation you thought impossible. If you were working, it almost always meant that your neck and shoulders were tight with tension, muscles knotted as you stressed about all the tasks you had to complete. Here, at the coffee shop you frequented, that tension was gone. You could work for hours without so much as a hint of the tension headache that plagued you for years before you found the hidden gem that was the locally owned coffee shop you found yourself settled in almost every day.

There was something to be said for choosing a local place over one of the national chains that seemed to be on every corner. More often than not, the chains were overcrowded, affording you or the customers hardly any room to maneuver in, along with too many voices speaking too loudly, and you felt claustrophobic. Not to mention the fact that your favorite lattes were almost all seasonal, meaning you only had a couple of weeks to indulge before having to settle on something boring to get your caffeine fix.

But ever since you missed your turn to the grocery store, too distracted by the song on the radio to notice until it was too late, you had found the coffee shop that you were convinced was made for you. It was less crowded than the chains, the music soft over the small speakers mounted on the ceiling. You always had a place to sit, to spread your work out on and get started. And last but not least, they always had your favorite drink and every single barista had your order memorized.

There was such a sense of familiarity when you opened the door every day, dragging your work in with you, and the barista on duty smiled and got started making your drink immediately. You would sit there for hours, working tirelessly into the night, completely unbothered by those around you. You had never been more productive in your life.

And then they hired a new barista, taking over for one of your absolute favorites as she moved away to college.

The new barista, “Elias,” he introduced himself to you with a smug grin and a twinkle in his eye, wasn’t terrible. 

But he wasn’t what you were accustomed to, either.

For a year, you had been coming to this coffee shop and been left alone to work, conversation kept at a minimum even when you were the only one there (which happened more often than not). Elias, however, didn’t seem to get the memo.

“Whatcha working on?” he asked, plopping down into the seat across from you, one finger on the screen of your laptop in an attempt to pull it back, eyeing what little he could see. He’d been working there for months, should know how you liked to be left alone by now. But apparently, he didn’t care at all.

“A grant proposal,” you answered quickly, hand darting out to straighten out your screen before typing furiously once again. 

“For what?” His hands found their way to the papers spread out around you, flipping through them nonchalantly.

“Do you not have any work to do?” you asked, one hand slapping down on the papers he was messing with, finally looking up at him.

“Look around, princess, you’re the only one here.” That smug grin was on his face again and you rolled your eyes, turning your attention back to your computer.

“You never know. There could be a rush soon.”

“Please,” he scoffed, propping his elbows on the table, rocking it just enough for you to notice. “Hardly anyone comes in here. And all the regulars have come and gone.”

“Then please, can I get another coffee?” you asked, looking pointedly behind the counter. 

“What do you want?” He stood up slowly, catching his floral scarf as it tried to slip off his shoulders.

“What I always get,” you replied absentmindedly, eyes tracking the mistake you just found in your document.

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Yes you do, you just want me to drink something different,” you frowned, deleting a large chunk of text.

“Well, duh. Variety is the spice of life and all that.” Elias laughed as you rolled your eyes at him again, gathering his hair into a messy bun before walking towards the counter. “Fine, fine. I’ll get you your drink.”

“Thank you,” you muttered, happy to be able to focus completely on the task at hand for a moment. 

Ten minutes later, two cups were placed on either side of your computer, Elias’s arms reaching around you from behind to place them there. When you opened your mouth to speak, Elias beat you to it, moving around to the empty side of the table again. 

“I know you only ordered one drink,” he explained, sprawling out in the chair. “But it’s so boring to drink the same thing over and over again, so I brought you something a little different.”

“I don’t-” you began, one hand reaching out to push the unmarked cup closer to him. 

He stopped you, fingers on the other side of the cup to keep it where he placed it. “Just try it.” Before you could say something in return, the bell above the door chimed and you heard a small group walk in, taking Elias’s attention off of you to do his job. 

You didn’t want two drinks, didn’t need two drinks, and you certainly didn’t want to deviate from your normal routine. And still, when you were sure Elias was too preoccupied with the group in front of him, you grabbed the new drink he made you to take a tentative sip. 

Picturing the smug smile he would have on his face if he found out you liked it didn’t stop you from drinking the whole thing.

—

You couldn’t admit to Elias that you liked the surprise drink he made you the day before, so you crossed your fingers and hoped one of the other baristas was working today. The drink he made was better than your usual order, and you had the flavors memorized so you could describe it to whoever was working today and order it. 

But when you walked through the door and saw Elias organizing the cups next to the register, you abandoned that plan. You would just settle for your usual, you refused to see Elias’s smug smile that would be present if you ordered anything else. 

“What’ll it be, princess?” He twirled a sharpie in his hand, other hand hovering over the cups to his right. 

“The usual,” you replied easily, setting your laptop bag down at the booth you always sat at. 

“Nothing new? Something you tried yesterday, maybe?” he asked with a knowing grin on his face. When you stared at him, mouth agape, he rolled his eyes and reached for the largest cup. “You weren’t sneaky, I saw the look on your face as you drank it. You liked it.”

“I want my usual,” you repeated, whipping your head around to face your stuff again to get it organized. Moments later, Elias appeared beside you, commandeering your attention despite how hard you tried to ignore him. 

“The new one’s on me,” he winked, setting two cups down on the table in front of you. 

“I can’t keep drinking two coffees,” you protested, shoving the unmarked cup further away from your belongings. 

“Oh, come on,” Elias laughed, the sound just on this side of being too loud in the otherwise empty coffee shop. “I’ve seen you drink no less than five coffees in the span of a couple hours before. Two won’t kill you.”

You glared at him as he sat across from you, sprawling out in the booth and propping his feet up on the end of the table. “If I died of caffeine consumption today, you’d feel terrible.” Ignoring the unmarked cup with a pointed look, you reached for your usual drink and took a sip. 

“I’ll be sure to give you CPR.”

“I don’t think CPR is necessary if someone dies on account of having too much caffeine.” With a roll of your eyes, you focused back on your work in front of you. 

Elias didn’t remove himself from his seat across from you, his feet tapping against each other on the table. He hummed softly under his breath, a tune you didn’t recognize, but it was making you feel relaxed, more so than you usually did in the shop. And before you knew it, your focus drifted from your work and onto something much more interesting. 

Elias. 

Usually, you were able to force yourself to ignore him, to do your work and leave. There was something about him today, however, that captured your attention easily. Taking a cup in your hand - the new drink he was so proud of - you allowed your eyes to graze his form. Long legs stretched out, encased in tight black jeans, scuffed boots on the table. His white v neck shirt was tight, too, and you wondered briefly if anything he owned fit looser around his frame. The bracelets on his wrists made you wonder how he still had circulation in his hands, thick and almost clumsily thrown together. With another sip of your drink, your eyes finally raked over his beard, automatically darting back to look at the messy bun he pulled his hair into, before finally settling on his face. 

When mischievous hazel eyes met yours, you choked on your drink, sitting up straighter in the booth. Before Elias could say anything, you were shoving your stuff back into your bag and practically running out the door. You never looked back to see a confused, frowning Elias framed by your two forgotten drinks. 

—

A week passed before you even felt comfortable thinking about going back to the coffee shop. You sat at home, staring at your laptop screen, mind replaying the events of your last visit. 

Not that they were bad, per se, you kept telling yourself. You were only looking at Elias, not anything else. But the knowing look in his eyes had spooked you, and you couldn’t sit there any longer. The whole ride back to your apartment you scolded yourself for your actions, for not being able to maintain your focus on your work and letting yourself openly gawk at him. 

That same lecture replayed in your head every day as you sat down to work, every time you attempted to recreate the drink he made for you with things you bought at the grocery store. Your ability to do any semblance of work was out the window, your mind conditioned to only be functional for work in the coffee shop. It was driving you crazy, sitting at home and thinking about how you could’ve acted normal instead of letting yourself get lost in him. 

By the time the week passed, you were sure you had worked past it, could see him again. You would just have better control of yourself this time and actually focus on your work. That was your main priority.

You hoped. 

—

Elias was sitting in the middle of the empty coffee shop, guitar in his lap. You had been watching him for fifteen minutes from the comfort of your car, trying to hype yourself up enough to finally go inside. When he leaned over to tune his guitar, you took a deep breath and got out of your car, walking to the shop. 

The bell above the door jingled, interrupting Elias’s singing. When he saw you, he smiled and set his guitar down, standing up from his chair. 

“Hi,” you said awkwardly, shifting your weight under his stare. 

“Hi.” Elias was standing right in front of you now, eyes locked on yours. There was a soft smile on his face instead of the smug smirk he usually wore, and you felt butterflies come alive in your stomach. “It’s been a while,” he whispered, unwilling to break the spell that surrounded you two in the empty shop. 

“I, uh, was busy,” you explained, ducking your head from his gaze. 

His hand came up under your chin, urging your eyes up to meet his again. “Well, I’m glad you stayed away for so long.” At the panicked look in your eyes, he quickly continued. “It gave me some time to think about what to say.”

“And what did you come up with?” Your voice was soft, breath hitching in the middle of your question. 

Time seemed to slow between the two of you, silence stretching on for eternity. And then he was moving closer, asking you a question with his eyes. When you nodded imperceptibly, his lips met yours. 

The kiss was soft, sweet, setting off the butterflies in your stomach again. You were sure he could hear your heart beating as he deepened the kiss, your hands clutching onto his shoulders. 

“That’s not words,” you joked as the kiss finally broke apart, your foreheads resting against each other. 

Elias let out a breath of a laugh, pressing a kiss to your forehead before grabbing your hand. “Come on, I’ll make you a drink.”

This time, when he gave you his new creation, you didn’t complain a bit.


End file.
